


Kept

by Xingshou



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angel internal musings, Angst, Valentino Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), drug mention, no comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29420631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xingshou/pseuds/Xingshou
Summary: An introspective Angel Dust wonders why Valentino even keeps him around.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Kept

Angel didn’t know why the fuck he was doing the dishes. Vox and Val could do their own damn dishes, but he needed something to _do_ , and this was the first thing he found. He glanced over his shoulder to see if Val was still lounging on the couch – indeed, the moth was, alternating between flipping between television channels and scrolling on his phone. Not acknowledging Angel at all. 

That was fine by him, Angel thought as he scrubbed food off one plate, dipping it in sudsy water before placing it in a nearby draining rack. Still, it wasn’t doing much for the nervous energy. One foot rubbed against the back of the other as he fidgeted. Val had called him over to his place, but didn’t actually seem to want him for anything. He didn’t get it, and he felt as tightly wound as he could get as he waited for the other shoe to drop. 

Val had greeted him when he arrived but then wandered off to do other things, leaving Angel standing in the middle of the room wondering what the hell he was supposed to be doing. Usually Val was forceful and up front with his directions for Angel – this time it was a mystery. That was how he’d ended up doing the dishes, after wandering around the penthouse for a while, a careful eye always on Val in case he was called for. 

Angel constantly needed to be moving, occupied, something. Staying still too long invited too much deep thinking and he didn’t want that. If he was forced to stay still he preferred to do it under the influence of drugs, feeling pleasantly light and hazy and unable to remember a thing. He didn’t like uncertainty. Uncertainty got you erased down here.   
There weren’t any more dishes and Angel clenched his hands open and closed in an attempt to do something with them, finally turning on his heel to watch Val, who still appeared to be oblivious. Angel wrapped one arm around the other. 

“…Val?” 

“What, Angel.” 

“I’m…” Angel took a few steps closer to the couch, hesitating as to what to say. He didn’t dare say he was bored – if he did, he was sure Val would find some creative entertainment – instead, he went for the next best thing, perching on the edge of the couch. “I’m lonely.” 

“Aw,” Val reached over to tug Angel into his lap, the spider readjusting himself so he was straddling the moth the way he knew his boss liked, keeping them face to face. He reached up to cup Angel’s cheek, and it was all the spider could do not to tense up. “I’m sorry, baby. You know Daddy would love to keep you company, but I’ve got a big meeting in a little bit. Why don’t you go see if you can tidy up the sitting room before they get here? Show ‘em how useful you can be. Nobody likes a useless pet.” 

“Okay,” Angel mumbled, getting off Val’s lap at the moth’s insistent pat on his thigh. Mystery solved. Valentino wanted to show off how sweet, how perfect, how obedient his little Angel was to his underworld buddies. Maybe sell them on hiring his services at some point, at VIP level prices of course. 

He wandered into the sitting room, flopping down into one of the seats that circled the big round table Val used for meetings when he had the rare meeting at his home, half-heartedly scooping up the papers that littered the surface. He cast a disinterested eye over them – mostly billing invoices, receipts, boring stuff that Vox usually dealt with. He paused at the heading of one, though. It was a soul contract, all filled out, save for the name and where the person was supposed to sign. Interesting – if Val had it out, that meant he was confident he was going to get someone to sign soon. Angel wondered what poor freak the moth was courting this time. 

As far as Angel knew, though, his own contract was the only one Valentino had ever had framed. It hung on the wall above Val’s desk at the studio, staring back down at Angel whenever he found himself flipped onto his back on Valentino’s casting couch, which, as it turned out, was pretty often. 

Just another sign of Valentino’s complete control. 

Angel could feel the tell-tale signs of a panic attack swirling from his stomach up into his chest, and he fumbled for a cigarette and a lighter to try and get ahead of it. He could really go for some harder stuff right now, but he guessed Val hadn’t offered him any because he didn’t want Angel blitzed out of his mind when he showed him off to his buddies. Jerk. 

It would be so easy to say he hadn’t known what he had been doing when he’d signed Valentino’s contract so many decades ago. That the moth had tricked him, that he’d been high, that he’d been drunk, he was young, naïve, scared, stupid… 

But it wasn’t the truth. Angel knew that. He’d been in complete control, made his own choice when he signed the document. Eternity just sounded like a word until you had to live it. 

“Damn, you’re not done yet?” Valentino stood in the doorway, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Angel finished scooping the papers into a pile, setting them aside on a nearby side table. “Pretty much done, Val.” 

“Good.” Valentino cast a critical eye over Angel’s outfit – the jacket and mini skirt he usually wore on a day to day basis. “You ain’t gonna entice anybody wearin’ that. C’mere, I got somethin’ better for ya.” 

He led Angel into the bedroom, where a tiny red dress was thrown over the bed. Angel picked it up, smoothing out the wrinkles. Leave it to Val to not hang up a piece of clothing that could wrinkle easily. 

“Toss that on and come out when you’re done,” Val said, turning on his heel, “That’ll definitely turn some heads.” 

As soon as Val was gone, Angel carefully put the dress back over a chair, then crossed to the window and threw it open, sticking his head out to take a few deep breaths for a moment before reaching for another cigarette and lighting up, smoking it with one hand while he used his other two to lean on the windowsill. 

Somebody was watching television in the building just across from theirs. He could see the blue light flickering through the window. Angel always felt odd when he caught snippets of the mundane parts of other people’s lives like this. It always felt a bit like a dream, detached and ungrounded. Angel wondered what those people in that apartment were like. What they’d done to get to Hell. Considering they seemed to be comfortably sitting on a couch watching TV, it wasn’t like they were currently suffering horribly. 

A pang of jealousy went through him, and Angel pulled his head back inside, shaking it as he stubbed out his cigarette. He had to remind himself he knew nothing about those people. For all he knew, their dicks fell off every five minutes or something. They sure had looked comfortable though… 

“Angel! Hurry the fuck up!” Val’s voice floated through. “How long does it take to put on a fuckin’ dress, fuckin’ diva…” 

“Comin’, sorry,” Angel said, shimmying into the dress and quickly fixing his hair. The natural makeup he’d put on to come over to Val’s would just have to do, since he apparently didn’t have time to do anything more dramatic. 

“Perfect,” Val purred when he stepped out, grabbing his arm to turn him around to see him from all angles. “Now.” Val pulled Angel close so they were chest to chest, the moth’s lower arms encircling Angel’s waist, pulling him even closer, tilting his head up to ensure he was paying attention. “You’re gonna be a good boy tonight, yeah? Just stay quiet, look pretty, and do what I tell you to do.” 

It was true Angel had been a little disobedient the past few weeks. Showing up to shoots late, mouthing off, being high while on the clock, not answering Val’s calls or texts when he was supposed to. He liked to kid himself that he had at least a little control over his own situation, and he liked to see how long Valentino would humor him. For this month, the answer was not long. 

“Course, Daddy. I’ll be real good for ya.” 

Angel was almost tempted to fuck up this evening on purpose just to see what would happen, but he was holding out hope that Val would reward him with a good hit of drugs later, and that need was currently stronger than the need to assert himself in any way. 

“I hope so. ‘Cause ya know I can show you off just as good in handcuffs.” 

Angel had no idea what he was supposed to say to that, so he just gave Val a tight smile and gently untangled himself from the moth’s arms. Handcuffs. He was pretty sure if Val had his way all the time, he’d just keep Angel bound and gagged in a closet somewhere until he was needed. 

Small blessings, Angel thought darkly. 

It honestly baffled him sometimes, the length Valentino would go to to keep him under control. It took up large amounts of energy and resources, sometimes because Angel was fucking up on purpose, sometimes with having no idea what he was doing wrong, but in both cases, still wasting the moth’s time. It didn’t seem to matter how much time of Val’s he wasted, though – the moth was still constantly calling him, requesting him, ordering him. He wondered why he even bothered to keep him around. 

Angel wrapped his arms around his middle, watching as Val sauntered away to get the bar area set up for his guests. He’d heard of other soul contracts with other Overlords that seemed to be a lot more hands off than Val was with him – both figuratively and literally. The contract would be sealed and the sinner in question wouldn’t see the Overlord again until they were needed. Sometimes with years in between. It sounded like a dream to Angel. 

“Ya want me to play bartender?” Angel offered. He liked mixing drinks, plus he was good at it. He liked showing off that he could be good at things besides giving a good fuck on camera. 

“Nah, that’s for Daddy to do, sweetheart,” Val said. “I just want you to sit there and look pretty.” 

Angel huffed. So he was in for an evening of hair-tearing boredom, sitting like some kind of painting while other men looked at him and were told “this could be yours!” Well, if he had to be stuck with his thoughts all night and no drugs to calm them, he might as well give himself something to think about. 

“Hey, Val?” 

“What now?” 

“Why…” Angel’s arms wrapped around the other two, “Why d’ya even bother keepin’ me around?” 

Val looked at him over the rim of his sunglasses, appearing to be actually surprised by the question. “You know I like keepin’ an eye on you, Angel-cakes.” 

Partly true, but not the answer Angel was looking for. 

“But –“ 

“Angel. Sweetie. What did I just say about keepin’ quiet? What’s with all the questions all of a sudden?” Valentino stepped over to him, running a hand through his hair, “Listen, babe. If you’re good and behave yourself all night, you’ll get a special reward, ‘kay? Then all those pesky questions are gonna fly right outta your head.” 

Angel nodded silently, allowing Val to guide him to the couch and position him in the angles he wanted. Just like when they were on the sound stages, but this was live, and apparently, a silent performance. He practiced smiling a couple of times, wide and beguiling, sultry and sexy. He wanted Val’s guests to get the right impression the minute they walked in the door. 

He didn’t know what answer he’d wanted or hoped for. He knew the true reason the Overlord kept him around so constantly. It wasn’t servicing Val personally, it wasn’t working the club, it wasn’t the hundreds of johns he got through every damn week. It wasn’t even the money Angel brought in.

Valentino kept Angel around because he _could_. 

Angel’s true punishment was being at the beck and call of someone who liked to control him _just because_. Just because he had no choice but to be controlled. And Angel had been the one to heap that particular punishment on himself. How fuckin’ ironic. 

The doorbell buzzed, and Angel straightened up, pulling his dress down to show just a little more fur, to entice just a bit more. Val gave him one more warning look as he went to open the door, which Angel answered with a lazy wink. 

He hoped the drugs were fucking worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated if you wish to.   
> If you want to find me elsewhere, I'm Xingshou1 on Twitter.


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